a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to biodegradable polymers, and more specifically to biodegradable polymers with N-substituted pyridinium groups introduced therein.
b) Description of the Prior Art
Synthetic polymers are abundantly used in the form of molded articles, fibers, sheets, films and the like both for industrial and domestic applications. It is however the current situation that many of these synthetic polymers are disposed of as they are without any special treatment. In general, synthetic polymers decompose very little, so that when thrown away as they are, they are not readily decomposed and tend to induce environmental contamination, leading to a worldwide social problem.
As a fundamental solution to this problem, the effectiveness of impartment of biodegradability to synthetic polymers is easily inferable. One known example of such an attempt includes composite materials made of starch and synthetic polymers. When this approach is followed, the composite materials are decomposed at the sites of the starch because the starch is biodegradable. It is hence necessary to treat the remaining segments only. The above approach has however provided absolutely no improvement to the inherent defect of synthetic polymers that they lack biodegradability. The desirability to develop a more biodegradable product remains therefore an important issue.